Obama to bring economic message to Pennsylvania next week

President Barack Obama will return to Pennsylvania, the swing state he won handily in 2012, to continue his summer push to shift the policy conversation back to the economy.

Details are few, but the White House confirmed that on "Thursday, August 22 and Friday, August 23, the President will travel through New York and Pennsylvania on a two-day bus tour to discuss another cornerstone of his vision for a better bargain for the middle class."

UPDATED: The Associated Press, citing a "Washington official with knowledge of the plans," has reported that Obama's Pennsylvania stop will be Scranton. The president will also visit several upstate New York locations.

The White House said more details about Obama's visits are forthcoming. Obama kicked off his summer road show in Illinois, his home state, and later visited Tennessee where he outlined a "grand bargain" that would include a mix of corporate tax reform and spending on public works projects.

In that speech, Obama said he was there to talk about "that first and most important cornerstone of a middle-class life: a good job in a durable, growing industry."

Those themes, particularly jobs for middle class Americans, will certainly highlight Obama's speech in Pennsylvania, whether he ends up in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown or elsewhere.

Obama's economic plan was largely panned as a nonstarter by congressional Republicans. The day Obama delivered it, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa, ridiculed the plan off the Senate floor.

"It seems that this administration never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity to grow this economy," Toomey said, flanked by three other Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Obama was last in Pennsylvania for a public event in July 2012, having put Pennsylvania securely in the win column early on in the campaign season despite a last minute aggressive push there by Republican challenger Mitt Romney.